I've been looking into the built in theremine-like synth, and find it pretty cool. However, it would seem its uses are quite limited. I find it kinda hard to control the dbeam, and I'm wondering if any of you have any cool tips to get me going...?

Also, the pad synth (comprised of both efx units) - is it worth digging into?

Any replies appreciated.

Just like with a Theremin, practice, practice.
Have you played with the D-beam settings? You can adjust everything from Wave type to pitch to sensitivity.

And yes the synth is very worth digging into. You can sample yourself playing it- through FX, and even chop what you've played.

I can't explain it better than 606 Man did in the following post:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1483

Hey, thanks for that, hXc! Very interesting. Is there any way to save the edited settings in the dbeam, or are they lost at power off, as the effect settings?

Yep FUNC F3 in the setting screen gives you the 'write' option.

Ahh, very cool. Too bad effect settings aren't saved, but I guess the procedure of resampling the synth (as described in your link) is a way to overcome this.
Thanks again

Be sure to get that 606 manual. It tells everything you can do with the SP.
Roland manuals were never known for their greatness (translation issues), but I like the 606 manual & go back to it all the time to study up on my SP ninja skills.

Yeah, I must say the 606 manual is quite good. Haven't looked that much in it, though, due to the intuitive operation of the unit, but still. Awefull manuals are a common problem - some of Yamaha's are bordering grotesque.

Yeah, I know what you're saying. But even Roland sometimes forgets to explain how to do certain things, when they're more advanced.

It's still better than those ill translated pieces of paper we sometimes get to deal with.

I've now tried the resampling the pad synth, but ran into problems. This is the sequence of events:
1. Set up both effect units accordingly and made adjustments
2. Entered 'sampling' mode and played the pads consecutively, from pad 1 to 13, that is one octave. Made sure to leave a gap between each pad push
3. The sample was put on pad 16
4. Entered 'chop' mode and noticed the 606 was unable to show me the waveform. When playing the pad, however, sound was produced, and I was able to run the chop routine (I could also adjust start and end, so it's clear the sample was there)
5. After chopping the sample, nothing happened - the sample was as before. I tried chop resolutions 1 and 10, still no difference.

What could be the problem?